Method and apparatus for image coding/decoding

ABSTRACT

A method for decoding an image according to the present invention comprises the steps of: decoding a residual block by quantizing and inverse transforming an entropy-decoded residual block; generating a prediction block via motion compensation; and decoding an image by adding the decoded residual block to the prediction block, wherein on the basis of the maximum number of motion vector candidates of the motion vector candidate list related to the prediction block, a motion vector candidate list is adjusted by adding a particular motion vector candidate or by discarding a portion from among the motion vector candidates, and in the prediction block generation step, a prediction motion vector of the prediction block is determined on the basis of the adjusted motion vector candidate list. Accordingly, the complexity of arithmetic operations is reduced during encoding/decoding of an image.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/829,241, filed Mar. 25, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/238,204, filed Jan. 2, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No.10,638,154, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/372,816 having a 371(c) date of Jul. 17, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No.10,218,999, which is a U.S. National Stage Application of InternationalApplication No. PCT/KR2013/000418, filed on Jan. 18, 2013, which claimsthe benefit under 35 USC 119(a) and 365(b) of Korean Patent ApplicationNo. 10-2013-0005655, filed on Jan. 18, 2013, and Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2012-0006282, filed on Jan. 19, 2012, in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office, the entire disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention concerns an image/video encoding/decoding methodand apparatus, and more specifically, to a motion vector predictiontechnology that may lower computation complexity.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Recent spread of HD (High Definition) broadcast services nationwide andworldwide makes more users familiar with high-resolution, high-qualityimages/videos, and many organizations put more efforts to development ofnext-generation imaging devices. Further, more interest is orientedtowards UHD (Ultra High Definition) having 4 times or more resolutionthan HDTV, as well as HDTV, so that image/video compression technologiesfor higher-resolution, higher-quality images/videos are demanded.

For purposes of image/video compression, an inter prediction forpredicting a pixel value included in a current image from a temporallyprevious and/or subsequent image, an intra prediction for predicting apixel value included in a current image by using pixel information inthe current image, and an entropy encoding for assigning a shorter codeto a more frequent symbol while assigning a longer code to a lessfrequent symbol may be used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide an image/video encodingmethod and apparatus that may enhance image/video encoding efficiencyand may reduce computation complexity.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an image/videodecoding method and apparatus that may enhance image/video encodingefficiency and may reduce computation complexity.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a predictionblock generating method and apparatus that may enhance image/videoencoding efficiency and may reduce computation complexity.

Yet still another object of the present invention is to provide an interprediction method and apparatus that may enhance image/video encodingefficiency and may reduce computation complexity.

Yet still another object of the present invention is to provide a motionvector prediction method and apparatus that may enhance image/videoencoding efficiency and may reduce computation complexity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

To achieve the above objects, an image decoding method according to thepresent invention may comprise the steps of reconstructing a residualblock by inverse-quantizing and inverse-transforming an entropy-decodedresidual block, generating a prediction block by performing motioncompensation, and reconstructing an image by adding the reconstructedresidual block to the prediction block, in which a motion vectorcandidate list associated with the prediction block may be adjusted byadding a specific motion vector candidate or removing some of motionvector candidates based on the maximum number of motion vectorcandidates in the motion vector candidate list, and in which in the stepof generating the prediction block, a prediction motion vector of theprediction block may be determined based on the adjusted motion vectorcandidate list

The step of generating the prediction block may comprise the steps ofconfiguring a motion vector candidate list by deriving a motion vectorcandidate associated with the prediction block, removing a same motionvector candidate of spatial motion vector candidates included in themotion vector candidate list, adjusting the motion vector candidate listby adding the specific motion vector candidate to the motion vectorcandidate list or removing some motion vector candidates from the motionvector candidate list, and determining a prediction motion vector amongmotion vector candidates included in the adjusted motion vectorcandidate list.

The step of adjusting the motion vector candidate list may comprise thestep of, in a case where the number of motion vector candidates includedin the motion vector candidate list is smaller than the maximum numberof motion vector candidates, adding the specific motion vector candidateirrespective of whether a motion vector candidate is present in themotion vector candidate list or whether the specific motion vectorcandidate is present in the motion vector candidate list.

The step of adjusting the motion vector candidate list may comprise thestep of, in a case where the number of motion vector candidates includedin the motion vector candidate list is smaller than the maximum numberof motion vector candidates, repeatedly adding the specific motionvector candidate until the number of motion vector candidates includedin the motion vector candidate list reaches the maximum number of motionvector candidates.

The specific motion vector may be a (0,0) motion vector, and the maximumnumber of motion vector candidates may be 2.

In a state where no motion vector candidate is present in the motionvector candidate list, two specific motion vectors are added.

In a state where one specific motion vector is present in the motionvector candidate list, one more specific motion vector may be added.

The step of adjusting the motion vector candidate list may comprise thestep of, in a case where the number of motion vector candidates includedin the motion vector candidate list is larger than the maximum number ofmotion vector candidates, removing, from the motion vector candidatelist, a motion vector candidate having an index larger than the maximumnumber of motion vector candidates minus 1.

To achieve the objects, an image decoding apparatus according to thepresent invention may comprise a residual block reconstructing unit thatreconstructs a residual block by inverse-quantizing andinverse-transforming an entropy-decoded residual block, a predictionblock generating unit that generates a prediction block by performingmotion compensation, and an image reconstructing unit that reconstructsan image by adding the reconstructed residual block to the predictionblock, in which the prediction block generating unit adjusts a motionvector candidate list associated with the prediction block by adding aspecific motion vector candidate or removing some of motion vectorcandidates based on the maximum number of motion vector candidates inthe motion vector candidate list, and determines a prediction motionvector of the prediction block based on the adjusted motion vectorcandidate list.

The prediction block generating unit may comprise a motion vectorcandidate list configuring unit that configures a motion vectorcandidate list by deriving a motion vector candidate associated with theprediction block, a same motion vector candidate removing unit thatremoves a same motion vector candidate of spatial motion vectorcandidates included in the motion vector candidate list, a motion vectorcandidate list adjusting unit that adjusts the motion vector candidatelist by adding the specific motion vector candidate to the motion vectorcandidate list or removing some motion vector candidates from the motionvector candidate list, and a motion vector determining unit thatdetermines a prediction motion vector among motion vector candidatesincluded in the adjusted motion vector candidate list.

In a case where the number of motion vector candidates included in themotion vector candidate list is smaller than the maximum number ofmotion vector candidates, the motion vector candidate list adjustingunit adds the specific motion vector candidate irrespective of whether amotion vector candidate is present in the motion vector candidate listor whether the specific motion vector candidate is present in the motionvector candidate list.

In a case where the number of motion vector candidates included in themotion vector candidate list is smaller than the maximum number ofmotion vector candidates, the motion vector candidate list adjustingunit repeatedly adds the specific motion vector candidate until thenumber of motion vector candidates included in the motion vectorcandidate list reaches the maximum number of motion vector candidates.

The specific motion vector may be a (0,0) motion vector, and in whichthe maximum number of motion vector candidates may be 2.

In a state where no motion vector candidate is present in the motionvector candidate list, two specific motion vectors are added.

In a state where one specific motion vector is present in the motionvector candidate list, one more specific motion vector may be added.

To achieve the objects, an image encoding method according to thepresent invention may comprise the steps of generating a predictionblock by performing inter prediction or motion compensation on an inputimage and performing entropy encoding by transforming and quantizing aresidual block that is a difference between a current input block and aprediction block predicted by the inter prediction, in which a motionvector candidate list associated with the prediction block may beadjusted by adding a specific motion vector candidate or removing someof motion vector candidates based on the maximum number of motion vectorcandidates in the motion vector candidate list, and in which in the stepof generating the prediction block, a prediction motion vector of theprediction block may be determined based on the adjusted motion vectorcandidate list.

The step of generating the prediction block may comprise the steps ofconfiguring a motion vector candidate list by deriving a motion vectorcandidate associated with the prediction block, removing a same motionvector candidate of spatial motion vector candidates included in themotion vector candidate list, adjusting the motion vector candidate listby adding the specific motion vector candidate to the motion vectorcandidate list or removing some motion vector candidates from the motionvector candidate list, and determining a prediction motion vector fromthe adjusted motion vector candidate list.

The step of adjusting the motion vector candidate list may comprise thestep of, in a case where the number of motion vector candidates includedin the motion vector candidate list is smaller than the maximum numberof motion vector candidates, adding the specific motion vector candidateirrespective of whether a motion vector candidate is present in themotion vector candidate list or whether the specific motion vectorcandidate is present in the motion vector candidate list.

To achieve the objects, an image encoding method according to thepresent invention may comprise a prediction block generating unit thatgenerates a prediction block by performing inter prediction or motioncompensation on an input image and an encoding unit that performsentropy encoding by transforming and quantizing a residual block that isa difference between a current input block and a prediction blockpredicted by the inter prediction, in which the prediction blockgenerating unit adjusts a motion vector candidate list associated withthe prediction block by adding a specific motion vector candidate orremoving some of motion vector candidates based on the maximum number ofmotion vector candidates in the motion vector candidate list, anddetermines a prediction motion vector of the prediction block based onthe adjusted motion vector candidate list.

The image/video encoding method according to the present invention mayreduce computation complexity and enhance image/video encodingefficiency.

The image/video decoding method according to the present invention mayreduce computation complexity and enhance image/video encodingefficiency.

The prediction block generating method according to the presentinvention may reduce computation complexity and enhance image/videoencoding efficiency.

The inter prediction method according to the present invention mayreduce computation complexity and enhance image/video encodingefficiency.

The motion vector prediction method according to the present inventionmay reduce computation complexity and enhance image/video encodingefficiency.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imageencoding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imagedecoding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart schematically illustrating an inter predictionmethod according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of deriving a motion vectorcandidate to determine a prediction motion vector in an imageencoding/decoding apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a view schematically illustrating a process of deriving aspatial motion vector candidate according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 is a view schematically illustrating a process of deriving atemporal motion vector candidate according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 7 is a view schematically illustrating an embodiment of configuringa motion vector candidate list based on derived motion vectors.

FIG. 8 is a view schematically illustrating an embodiment of removingmotion vectors that are the same as each other from a motion vectorcandidate list.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a process of adjustinga motion vector candidate list according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 is a view schematically illustrating an embodiment of adding a(0,0) motion vector in case one motion vector candidate is present in amotion vector candidate list.

FIG. 11 is a view schematically illustrating an embodiment of adding a(0,0) motion vector in case one (0,0) motion vector candidate is presentin a motion vector candidate list.

FIG. 12 is a view schematically illustrating an embodiment of adding(0,0) motion vectors in case no motion vector is present in a motionvector candidate list.

FIG. 13 is a view schematically illustrating an embodiment of removingsome motion vectors from a motion vector candidate list.

FIG. 14 is a view schematically illustrating a process of determining aprediction motion vector among motion vector candidates in a motionvector candidate list.

MODE FOR INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In describing theembodiments, when determined to make the gist of the invention unclear,the detailed description on the well-known configurations or functionswill be omitted.

When a component is “connected to” or “coupled to” another component,the component may be directly connected or coupled to the othercomponent, or other components may also intervene. Further, when aspecific component is “included”, other components are not excluded butmay be included, and such configuration is also included in the scope ofthe invention.

The terms “first” and “second” may be used to describe variouscomponents, but the components are not limited thereto. These terms areused only to distinguish one component from another. For example, thefirst component may be also named the second component, and the secondcomponent may be similarly named the first component.

The constitutional parts in the embodiments are independently shown torepresent different features, but this does not mean that eachconstitutional part is formed of a separate hardware unit or onesoftware constitutional unit. That is, each constitutional part isseparated from the others for ease of description. At least two of theconstitutional parts may be combined into a single constitutional part,or one constitutional part may be divided into a plurality ofconstitutional parts which may perform functions, respectively. Theembodiments covering the combinations of the constitutional parts or theseparation thereof may be included in the scope of the invention withoutdeparting from the gist of the invention.

Some constitutional parts are not essential ones to perform theinevitable functions of the present invention but rather may be optionalconstitutional parts to enhance performance. The present invention maybe implemented only by the constitutional parts necessary for realizingthe gist of the invention or such a configuration that includes only theessential constitutional parts excluding the optional constitutionalparts used for enhancing performance may also be included in the scopeof the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imageencoding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.Here, the “image” may be used to have the same meaning as the “picture”to be described below.

Referring to FIG. 1, the image encoding apparatus 100 includes a motionprediction unit 111, a motion compensation unit 112, an intra predictionunit 120, a switch 115, a subtractor 125, a transform unit 130, aquantization unit 140, an entropy encoding unit 150, an inversequantization unit 160, an inverse transform unit 170, an adder 175, afilter unit 180, and a reference picture buffer 190.

The image encoding apparatus 100 may perform encoding on an input imagein an intra mode or inter mode and may output a bit stream. The intraprediction means intra-picture prediction, and the inter predictionmeans inter-picture prediction. In the intra mode, the switch 115 mayshift to intra, and in the inter mode, the switch 115 may shift tointer. The image encoding apparatus 100 may generate a prediction blockon an input block of the input image and may then encoding adifferential between the input block and the prediction block.

In the intra mode, the intra prediction unit 120 may generate aprediction block by performing spatial prediction using a pixel value ofan already encoded block adjacent to a current block.

In the inter mode, the motion prediction unit 111 may obtain a motionvector by figuring out an area that best matches an input block of areference picture stored in the reference picture buffer 190 during thecourse of motion prediction. The motion compensation unit 112 maygenerate a prediction block by performing motion compensation using amotion vector. Here, the motion vector is a 2D (two-dimensional) vectorused for inter prediction, and may represent an offset between a currentencoding/decoding target image and a reference picture.

The subtractor 125 may generate a residual block based on a differentialbetween an input block and a generated prediction block. The transformunit 130 may perform transform on a residual block to output a transformcoefficient. The quantization unit 140 may perform quantization on aninput transform coefficient based on a quantization parameter to outputa quantized coefficient.

The entropy encoding unit 150 may output a bit stream by performingentropy encoding based on values yielded from the quantization unit 140or a motion vector difference, a reference picture index, a motionvector candidate index, and prediction direction information that areyielded during the course of encoding.

When entropy encoding applies, a fewer number of bits are assigned to asymbol having a higher probability of occurrence, while a more number ofbits are assigned to a symbol having a lower probability of occurrence,so that the size of the bit stream for the encoding target symbols maybe reduced. Accordingly, the compression performance of image encodingmay be increased through entropy encoding. The entropy encoding unit 150may adopt encoding schemes, such as exponential golomb, CAVLC(Context-Adaptive Variable Length Coding), CABAC (Context-AdaptiveBinary Arithmetic Coding), for purposes of entropy encoding.

The image encoding apparatus according to the embodiment described inconnection with FIG. 1 performs inter prediction encoding, i.e.,inter-picture prediction encoding, and thus, the currently encoded imageneeds to be decoded and then stored to be able to be used as a referencepicture. Accordingly, a quantized coefficient is inverse-quantized bythe inverse quantization unit 160 and inverse-transformed by the inversetransform unit 170. The inverse-quantized, inverse-transformedcoefficient is added to the prediction block by the adder 175, and thus,a reconstructed block is generated.

The reconstructed block passes through the filter unit 180 that mayapply at least one or more of a deblocking filter, SAO (Sample AdaptiveOffset), and ALF (Adaptive Loop Filter) to a reconstructed block orreconstructed image. The filter unit 180 may be also called an adaptivein-loop filter. The deblocking filter may remove a distortion thatoccurs at a boundary between blocks. The SAO may add a proper offsetvalue to a pixel value so as to compensate for a coding error. The ALFmay perform filtering based on a value obtained by comparing areconstructed image with an original image. A reconstructed block whichhas passed through the filter unit 180 may be stored in the referencepicture buffer 190.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imagedecoding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the image decoding apparatus 200 includes anentropy decoding unit 210, an inverse-quantization unit 220, aninverse-transform unit 230, an intra prediction unit 240, a motioncompensation unit 250, an adder 255, a filter unit 260, and a referencepicture buffer 270.

The image decoding apparatus 200 may receive a bit stream output from anencoder, perform decoding in an intra mode or inter mode, and output areconstructed image. In the intra mode, the switch may shift to intra,and in the inter mode, the switch may shift to inter. The image decodingapparatus 200 may obtain a reconstructed residual block from a receivedbit stream, generate a prediction block, and add the reconstructedresidual block to the prediction block to thereby generate areconstructed block.

The entropy decoding unit 210 may entropy-decode an input bit streamaccording to a probability distribution to thereby generate symbolsincluding quantized coefficient types of symbols. Entropy decodingschemes are similar to the above-described entropy encoding schemes.

When an entropy decoding scheme applies, a less number of bits areassigned to a symbol having a higher probability of occurrence, with amore number of bits assigned to a symbol having a lower probability ofoccurrence, so that the size of the bit stream for each symbol may bereduced. Accordingly, compression performance of image decoding may beincreased through the entropy decoding scheme.

A quantized coefficient may be inverse-quantized in theinverse-quantization unit 220, and inverse-transformed in theinverse-transform unit 230. As a result of inverse quantization/inversetransform of the quantized coefficient, a reconstructed residual blockmay be generated.

In the intra mode, the intra prediction unit 240 may generate aprediction block by performing spatial prediction using a pixel value ofan already decoded block adjacent to a current block. In the inter mode,the motion compensation unit 250 may generate a prediction block byperforming motion compensation using a reference picture stored in thereference picture buffer 270 and a motion vector.

The reconstructed residual block and prediction block are added to eachother through the adder 255, and the resultant block may go through thefilter unit 260. The filter unit 260 may apply at least one or more of adeblocking filter, SAO, and ALF to a reconstructed block or areconstructed image. The filter unit 260 may output a reconstructedimage. The reconstructed image may be stored in the reference picturebuffer 270 and may be used for inter prediction.

Hereinafter, the “block” means a basis on which image encoding anddecoding are carried out. Upon image encoding and decoding, a unit forencoding or decoding is the one split from an image for purposes ofencoding or decoding, and thus, the block may be also referred to as aunit, a coding unit (CU), a prediction unit (PU), a transform unit (TU),etc. One unit may be further split into sub units having a smaller size.A prediction unit is a basis unit for performing inter prediction ormotion compensation, and may be also referred to as a prediction block.A prediction unit may be split into a plurality of partitions, and theplurality of partitions are a basic unit for performing prediction, anda partition split from a prediction unit may be also referred to as aprediction unit. Further, as used herein, the “picture” may be alsoreferred to as “image,” “frame,” “field,” and/or “slice” according tocontext, and a distinction between each other may be easily made bythose skilled in the art. For example, the “P picture,” “B picture,” and“forward-directional B picture” may be also referred to as “P slice,” “Bslice,” and “forward-directional B slice,” respectively. Further, asused herein, the “current block” may denote a block when performinginter prediction or motion compensation, and in such case, the currentblock may mean a prediction unit or prediction block.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart schematically illustrating an inter predictionmethod according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, an encoder and a decoder may derive motioninformation for a current block (S310).

In an inter mode, the encoder and decoder may derive the motioninformation of the current block and may then perform inter predictionand/or motion compensation based on the derived motion information. Atthis time, the encoder and decoder may enhance encoding efficiency byusing motion information of a collocated block corresponding to thecurrent block in an already reconstructed collocated picture and/or areconstructed adjacent block. Here, the reconstructed adjacent block isa block in a current picture that is already encoded and/or decoded andreconstructed, and may include a block adjacent to the current blockand/or a block positioned at a corner outside the current block.Further, the encoder and decoder may determine a predetermined relativeposition based on a block present at spatially the same position as thecurrent block in the collocated picture and may produce the collocatedblock based on the determined predetermined relative position (aposition in and/or outside a block present at spatially the sameposition as the current block). Here, as an example, the collocatedpicture may correspond to one picture among reference pictures includedin a reference picture list. Further, the motion information, as usedherein, means information necessary for inter prediction or motioncompensation, which includes at least one of a motion vector, areference picture index, a motion vector candidate index, a motionvector difference, a reference picture list, a prediction motion vector,a merge flag, a merge index, a prediction direction, and availabilityinformation.

Meanwhile, the motion information deriving scheme may vary depending ona prediction mode of a current block. As a prediction mode applicable tointer prediction, there may be a merge mode or motion vector predictionincluding AMVP (Advanced Motion Vector Prediction).

As an example, in case motion vector prediction applies, the encoder anddecoder may generate a motion vector candidate list by using a motionvector of a collocated block and/or a motion vector of a reconstructedadjacent block. That is, the motion vector of the reconstructed adjacentblock and/or the motion vector of the collocated block may be used asmotion vector candidates. The encoder may transfer, to the decoder, aprediction motion vector index indicating the optimal prediction motionvector selected among motion vector candidates included in the list. Atthis time, the decoder may select a prediction motion vector of thecurrent block among prediction motion vector candidates included in themotion vector candidate list using the prediction motion vector index.

The encoder may obtain a motion vector difference (MVD) between themotion vector of the current block and the prediction motion vector andmay encode the motion vector difference and may transfer the encodedmotion vector difference to the decoder. At this time, the decoder maydecode the received motion vector difference and may derive the motionvector of the current block by adding the decoded motion vectordifference to the prediction motion vector.

As another example, in case a merge mode applies, the encoder anddecoder may generate a merge candidate list by using a collocated blockand/or motion information of a reconstructed adjacent block. That is, incase there is motion information of the collocated block and/or thereconstructed adjacent block, the encoder and decoder may use it as amerge candidate for the current block.

The decoder may select a merge candidate that may provide the optimalencoding efficiency among merge candidates included in the mergecandidate list as the motion information for the current block. At thistime, a merge index indicating the selected merge candidate may beincluded in a bit stream and may be transmitted to the decoder. Thedecoder may select one of the merge candidates included in the mergecandidate list by using the transmitted merge index and may determinethe selected merge candidate as the motion information of the currentblock. Accordingly, in case the merge mode applies, the motioninformation of the collocated block and/or the reconstructed adjacentblock may be used, as is, as the motion information of the currentblock.

In the above-described AMVP and merge mode, the motion information ofthe reconstructed adjacent block and/or the motion information of thecollocated block may be used to derive the motion information of thecurrent block. Hereinafter, in embodiments described below, the motioninformation derived from the reconstructed adjacent block is denoted asspatial motion information, and the motion information derived based onthe collocated block is denoted as temporal motion information. Forexample, a motion vector derived from a reconstructed adjacent block maybe referred to as a spatial motion vector, and a motion vector derivedbased on a collocated block may be referred to as a temporal motionvector.

Referring back to FIG. 3, the encoder and decoder may generate aprediction block by performing motion compensation on a current blockbased on the derived motion information (S320). Here, the predictionblock may mean a motion-compensated block that is generated as a resultof performing motion compensation on the current block. Further, aplurality of motion-compensated blocks may constitute onemotion-compensated picture. Thus, in embodiments described below, theprediction block may be denoted as a “motion-compensated block,” and/or“motion-compensated picture” according to context, and a distinctionbetween the two may be easily made by those skilled in the art.

Meanwhile, as pictures to be subject to inter prediction, there may be aP picture and a B picture. The P picture may mean a picture subject touni-directional prediction using one reference picture, and the Bpicture may mean a picture subjected to forward-directional,backward-directional, or bi-directional prediction using, e.g., tworeference pictures. For example, the B picture may be subject to interprediction using one forward-directional reference picture (pastpicture) and one backward-directional reference picture (futurepicture). Further, the B picture may also be subject to prediction usingtwo forward-directional reference pictures or two backward-directionalreference pictures.

Here, the reference pictures may be managed by a reference picture list.The reference picture used in the P picture may be assigned to areference picture list 0 (L0 or List 0). The two reference pictures usedin the B picture may be assigned to reference picture list 0 andreference picture list 1 (L1 or List 1), respectively. Hereinafter,reference picture list L0 may have the same meaning as reference picturelist 0, and reference picture list L1 may have the same meaning asreference picture list 1.

In general, a forward-directional reference picture may be assigned toreference picture list 0, and a backward-directional reference picturemay be assigned to reference picture list 1. However, the method ofassigning a reference picture is not limited thereto, and aforward-directional reference picture may be assigned to referencepicture list 1 while a backward-directional reference picture may beassigned to reference picture list 0. Hereinafter, a reference pictureassigned to reference picture list 0 is referred to as an L0 referencepicture, and a reference picture assigned to reference picture list 1 isreferred to as an L1 reference picture.

The reference pictures may be generally assigned to the referencepicture list in a descending order according to reference picturenumbers. Here, the reference picture number may mean a number assignedto each reference picture in the order of POC (Picture Order Count). ThePOC order may mean a time order and/or a display order of a picture. Forexample, two reference pictures having the same POC number maycorrespond to the same reference picture. Reference pictures assigned tothe reference picture list may be rearranged by reference picture listmodification.

As described above, uni-directional prediction using one L0 referencepicture may be performed on the P picture, and forward-directional,backward-directional, or bi-directional prediction using one L0reference picture and one L1 reference picture, i.e., two referencepictures, may be performed on the B picture. Prediction using onereference picture may be referred to as uni-prediction, and predictionusing two reference pictures including a L0 reference picture and a L1reference picture may be referred to as bi-prediction.

The bi-prediction may have a concept of including all of theforward-directional prediction, backward-directional prediction andbi-directional prediction, but for ease of description, in embodimentsdescribed below, prediction using two reference pictures (L0 referencepicture and L1 reference picture) is referred as to bi-directionalprediction. That is, in embodiments described below, the bi-directionalprediction may mean bi-prediction, and may be understood to have aconcept of including all of the forward-directional,backward-directional, and bi-directional prediction using two referencepictures (L0 reference picture and L1 reference picture). Further, evenin case bi-prediction is performed, forward-directional prediction orbackward-directional prediction may be performed, but in embodimentsdescribed below, prediction using one reference picture alone isreferred to as uni-directional prediction, for ease of description. Inother words, in embodiments described below, uni-directional predictionmay mean a uni-prediction, and should be understood to have a concept ofincluding prediction using only one reference picture. Further,information indicating whether uni-directional prediction(uni-prediction) or bi-directional prediction (bi-prediction) applies toa block is hereinafter referred to as prediction direction information.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of deriving a motion vectorcandidate to determine a prediction motion vector in an imageencoding/decoding apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the encoder and decoder first derive a spatialmotion vector candidate in order to determine a prediction motion vector(S410). The encoder and decoder may derive, as a spatial motion vectorcandidate, a motion vector candidate from a block (reference block)already reconstructed spatially adjacent to a current block as describedabove. At this time, as many spatial motion vector candidates as themaximum number of spatial motion vector candidates,maxNumSpatialMVPCand, may be derived. In case a reference picture of areconstructed adjacent block is different from a reference picture ofthe current block, scaling may be carried out to derive a spatial motionvector candidate.

The encoder and decoder derive a temporal motion vector candidate(S420). The encoder and decoder may derive a motion vector candidatefrom a collocated block reconstructed in a collocated picture temporallyadjacent to a current block. Further, as many temporal motion vectorcandidates as the maximum number of temporal motion vector candidates,maxNumTemporalMVPCand, may be derived. Further, in case a distancebetween a current picture and a reference picture of a current block isdifferent from a distance between a collocated picture and a referencepicture of a collocated block, scaling may be carried out to derive atemporal motion vector candidate.

If the deriving of a spatial motion vector candidate or temporal motionvector candidate is done, a derived motion vector candidate is added toa motion vector candidate list (S430). That is, the encoder and decodermay add spatial motion vector candidates and temporal motion vectorcandidates to the motion vector candidate list (mvpListLX) in an order.The motion vector candidate list (mvpListLX) means a motion vectorcandidate list corresponding to one of reference picture lists L0 andL1, and for example, a motion vector candidate list corresponding toreference picture list L0 may be represented as mvpListL0.

After the motion vector candidate list is configured, the encoder anddecoder remove the same motion vector candidate (S440). It is verifiedwhether there are motion vector candidates having the same motion vectorvalue in the motion vector candidate list (mvpListLX). For example, if aplurality of spatial motion vector candidates are in the list, amongspatial motion vector candidates that are identical to one another, aspatial motion vector candidate having the smallest motion vectorcandidate index is left while the other spatial motion vector candidatesare removed from the motion vector candidate list. In other words, incase there are a plurality of candidates having the same motion vectorvalue, only one of the candidates having the same motion vector valuemay be left in the motion vector candidate list. The number of motionvector candidates to be removed may be one.

Then, the encoder and decoder add or remove some of specific motionvectors to thereby adjust the motion vector candidate list (S450). Theencoder and decoder may adjust the size of the motion vector candidatelist by adding a motion vector to the motion vector candidate listmvpListLX) or by removing some of the motion vector candidates includedin the motion vector candidate list. The number of motion vectorcandidates to be removed may be one. At this time, a specific motionvector may be added without verifying whether a motion vector candidateis present in the motion vector candidate list based on the maximumnumber of motion vector candidates (maxNumMVPCand). Further, withoutverifying whether a specific motion vector candidate is present in themotion vector candidate list, a specific motion vector candidate may beadded to adjust the number of motion vector candidates in the motionvector candidate list. At this time, the added specific motion vectormay be a vector having a fixed integer or in some cases, may be a (0,0)motion vector. Here, the (0,0) motion vector means a motion vector inwhich x and y components are both 0, and may be also denoted as 0 motionvector (zero motion vector).

Finally, the encoder and decoder may determine a prediction motionvector based on the adjusted motion vector candidate list (S460).

FIG. 5 is a view schematically illustrating a process of deriving aspatial motion vector candidate according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the encoder and decoder determine whether there ismotion information of reconstructed adjacent blocks 510, 512, 514, 516,and 518 to derive a spatial motion vector candidate of a current block500. In case there is no motion information of the reconstructedadjacent blocks, they may be determined to be unavailable for motionvector candidates.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the encoder anddecoder may derive spatial motion vectors from an AO block 510positioned at a left and lower corner of the current block 500, an A1block 512 adjacent to a left and lowermost side of the current block500, a B0 block 514 positioned at a right and upper corner of thecurrent block 500, a B1 block 516 adjacent to an upper and rightmostside of the current block 500, and a B2 block 518 positioned at a leftand upper corner of the current block 500 and may determine it as aspatial motion vector candidate of the current block 500.

At this time, each of the blocks may be determined to have a motionvector in the order of A0, A1, B0, B1, and B2 blocks 510, 512, 514, 516,and 518. In case there is a motion vector, the motion vector of thecorresponding block may be determined as a motion vector candidate. Asmany spatial motion vector candidates as the maximum number of spatialmotion vector candidates, maxNumSpatialMVPCand, may be derived. In suchcase, the maximum number of spatial motion vector candidates,maxNumSpatialMVPCand, is a positive integer including 0. According to anembodiment of the present invention, the maximum number of spatialmotion vector candidates, maxNumSpatialMVPCand, may be 2. Accordingly,one motion vector candidate is derived from the A0 block 510 and A1block 512, and one motion vector candidate is derived from the B0 block514, B1 block 516, and B2 block 518, so that a total of two spatialmotion vectors are derived. Simultaneously, in case the motion vectorderived from the A0 block 510 and A1 block 512 is not the same as themotion vector derived from the B0 block 514, B1 block 516, and B2 block518, the process of deriving a temporal motion vector candidate may benot performed. Further, in case a reference picture of the reconstructedadjacent block is different from a reference picture of the currentblock 500, the motion vector of the adjacent block may be scaled basedon a difference between the reference picture of the current block 500and the reference picture of the reconstructed adjacent block, and maybe then used.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the followingscheme may be followed to derive a spatial motion vector from areconstructed adjacent block:

1) in case a block is present at a predetermined position, thecorresponding block is not subjected to intra encoding, and a referencepicture list and a reference picture of the corresponding block are thesame as a reference picture list and a reference picture of a currentblock, a motion vector of the corresponding block may be derived as amotion vector candidate of the current block.

2) in case a block is present at a predetermined position, thecorresponding block is not subjected to intra encoding, and a referencepicture list of the corresponding block is different from a referencepicture list of a current block, but a reference picture of thecorresponding block is the same as a reference picture of the currentblock, a motion vector of the corresponding block may be derived as amotion vector candidate of the current block.

3) in case a block is present at a predetermined position, thecorresponding block is not subjected to intra encoding, and a referencepicture list of the corresponding block is the same as a referencepicture list of a current block, but a reference picture of thecorresponding block is different from a reference picture of the currentblock, a motion vector of the corresponding block may be subjected toscaling and may be then derived as a motion vector candidate of thecurrent block.

4) in case a block is present at a predetermined position, thecorresponding block is not subjected to intra encoding, and a referencepicture list and a reference picture of the corresponding block aredifferent from a reference picture list and a reference picture of acurrent block, a motion vector of the corresponding block may besubjected to scaling and may be then derived as a motion vectorcandidate of the current block.

Based on the processes 1) to 4) above, the encoder and decoder maysequentially perform processes 1) and 2) on the A0 block 510,processes 1) and 2) on the A1 block 512, processes 3) and 4) on the A0block 510, processes 3) and 4) on the A1 block 512, processes 1) and 2)on the B0 block 514, processes 1) and 2) on the B1 block 516,processes 1) and 2) on the B2 block 518, processes 3) and 4) on the B0block 514, processes 3) and 4) on the B1 block 516, and processes 3) and4) on the B2 block 518.

FIG. 6 is a view schematically illustrating a process of deriving atemporal motion vector candidate according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the encoder and decoder may derive a motion vectorcandidate from a collocated block (or collocated block, 600)reconstructed in a collocated picture (or collocated picture) temporallyadjacent to the current block 500.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, temporal motionvector candidates may be derived in the order of a block 610 present atposition H, which is positioned outside a collocated block 600corresponding to spatially the same position as the current block 500 inthe collocated picture of the current picture and a block 612 present atposition C3, which is positioned in the collocated block 600. At thistime, in case motion vector may be derived from the H block 610, atemporal motion vector is derived from the H block 610, and in case nomotion vector may be derived from the H block 610, a temporal motionvector candidate may be derived from the C3 block 612.

Here, the H block 610 may be a block positioned at a right and lowercorner of the collocated block 600, and the C3 block may be a blockpositioned at a right and lower side among blocks obtained byquadrisecting a square with respect to the center of the collocatedblock 600. A temporal motion vector may be determined depending on arelative position of the H block 610 and the C3 block 612. If the Hblock 610 and C3 block are subjected to intra encoding, no temporalmotion vector candidate may be derived.

Further, as many temporal motion vector candidates as the maximum numberof temporal motion vector candidates, maxNumTemporalMVPCand, may bederived. At this time, the maximum number of temporal motion vectorcandidates, maxNumTemporalMVPCand, is a positive integer including 0,and as an example, the maximum number of temporal motion vectorcandidates, maxNumTemporalMVPCand, may be 1. In case a distance betweena current picture and a reference picture of the current block 500 isdifferent from a distance between a collocated picture and a referencepicture of the collocated block 600, scaling may be performed on themotion vector, thereby deriving a temporal motion vector candidate.

The scaling may be performed in the following process.

First, td indicating a POC (Picture Order Count) difference between acollocated picture and a reference picture of the H block 610 or C3block 612 and tb indicating a POC difference between the current pictureand a reference picture of a current block are first obtained. At thistime, in the process of deriving a spatial motion vector candidate, tddenotes a difference in POC between the current picture and a referencepicture referred to by a spatially adjacent reference block, and tbdenotes a difference in POC between the current picture and a referencepicture referred to by the current block. At this time, the referencepicture of the current block and the reference picture of the referenceblock may have different prediction directions, and in such case, td andtb may be assigned with different signs. In some cases, td or tb may beadjusted to be included in a range from −128 to 127. At this time, if tdor tb is smaller than −128, td or tb may be adjusted to −128, and if tdor tb is larger than 127, td or tb may be adjusted to 127. If td or tbis included in a range from −128 to 127, td or tb is not subjected toadjustment.

After td and tb are obtained, tx which is an inverse-proportional valueof td is yielded. This may be determined using equation:(16384+(Abs(td)>>1))/td. Here, Abs( ) represents an absolute value of aninput value.

Then, a scaling factor, DistScaleFactor, is determined based onequation, (tb*tx+32)>>6, and is adjusted to be included in a rangebetween −1024 and 1023.

With the adjusted DistScaleFactor value and equation,Sign(DistScaleFactor*mvCol)*((Abs(DistScaleFactor*mvCol)+127)>>8), ascaled temporal motion vector may be obtained. At this time, Sign( )outputs information on the sign of an input value, and mvCol representsa temporal motion vector before scaling.

FIG. 7 is a view schematically illustrating an embodiment of configuringa motion vector candidate list based on derived motion vectors.

Referring to FIG. 7, the encoder and decoder add a derived motion vectorcandidate to a motion vector candidate list mvpListLX. The encoder anddecoder add derived spatial motion vector candidates and temporal motionvector candidates to the motion vector candidate list in an order.mvpListLX means a motion vector candidate list corresponding to one ofreference picture lists L0 and L1. For example, a motion vectorcandidate list corresponding to reference picture list L0 may berepresented as mvpListL0.

The size of the motion vector candidate list mvpListLX may be determinedbased on a predetermined number, e.g., the maximum number of motionvector candidates, maxNumMVPCand. At this time, the maximum number ofmotion vector candidates, maxNumMVPCand, may be 2. In case the maximumnumber of motion vector candidates is 3, and the number of derivedmotion vector candidates is 3, a motion vector candidate to be firstadded to the motion vector candidate list mvpListLX may have a motionvector candidate index of 0, and a motion vector candidate to be lastadded to the list may have a motion vector index of 2.

According to the embodiment described in connection with FIG. 7, if anon-scaled spatial motion vector candidate (1,0) is derived from the A1block 512, a scaled spatial motion vector candidate (4,−1) is derivedfrom the B1 block 516, and a temporal motion vector candidate (2,3) isderived from the H block 610, the motion vector candidates are added tothe motion vector candidate list 700 in the order. At this time, theindex of the motion vector candidate derived from the A1 block 512 maybe 0, the index of the motion vector candidate derived from the B1 block516 may be 1, and the index of the motion vector candidate derived fromthe H block 610 may be 2. In the embodiment, assuming the maximum numberof motion vector candidates is 2, the motion vector candidates derivedfrom the A1 block 512 and the B1 block 516 are not the same as eachother, and thus, motion vector candidates derived from the A1 block 512and the B1 block 516 are added to the motion vector candidate listwithout deriving a temporal motion vector candidate.

FIG. 8 is a view schematically illustrating an embodiment of removingmotion vectors that are the same as each other from a motion vectorcandidate list.

Referring to FIG. 8, the encoder and decoder verifies whether the samemotion vector candidates are in the motion vector candidate list 800. Ifa result of the verification shows there are a plurality of same motionvector candidates, the encoder and decoder leave a motion vectorcandidate having the smallest motion vector candidate index among thesame motion vector candidates while removing the others from the motionvector candidate list 800. At this time, the operation of removing thesame motion vector candidate may be carried out only on spatial motionvector candidates.

According to the embodiment described in connection with FIG. 8, in casethe motion vector candidate list 800 consists of three motion vectorcandidates (1,0), (1,0), and (2,3) candidates corresponding to indices 0and 1 are the same as each other as having (1,0). In case there are thesame motion vectors, the encoder and decoder leave only a motion vectorcandidate having the smallest index among the same motion vectorcandidates in the motion vector candidate list 810 while removing theother motion vector candidates, as in the reconfigured motion vectorcandidate list 810.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a process of adjustinga motion vector candidate list according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 9, the encoder and decoder determine whether thenumber of motion vector candidates included in the motion vectorcandidate list, numMVPCandLX, is smaller than the maximum number ofmotion vector candidates, maxNumMVPCand (S910). In case the number ofmotion vector candidates included in the motion vector candidate list,numMVPCandLX is smaller than the maximum number of motion vectorcandidates, maxNumMVPCand, (0,0) motion vector is added to the motionvector candidate list (S920). If the (0,0) motion vector is added to themotion vector candidate list, the number of motion vector candidatesincluded in the motion vector candidate list, numMVPCandLX, may beincreased by 1. After the (0,0) motion vector is added, the operation ofdetermining whether the number of motion vector candidates included inthe motion vector candidate list, numMVPCandLX, is the smaller than themaximum number of motion vector candidates, maxNumMVPCand and adding a(0,0) motion vector is repeated until the number of motion vectorcandidates included in the motion vector candidate list, numMVPCandLX,reaches the maximum number of motion vector candidates, maxNumMVPCand.That is, the above process may be performed until the number of motionvector candidates included in the motion vector candidate list,numMVPCandLX, is the same as the maximum number of motion vectorcandidates, maxNumMVPCand.

However, according to another embodiment of the present invention, incase the number of motion vector candidates included in the motionvector candidate list, numMVPCandLX, is smaller than the maximum numberof motion vector candidates, maxNumMVPCand, only one (0,0) motion vectormay be added.

Resultantly, the number of motion vector candidates included in themotion vector candidate list may be determined depending on the maximumnumber of motion vector candidates.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in case the numberof motion vector candidates included in the motion vector candidatelist, numMVPCandLX, is larger than the maximum number of motion vectorcandidates, maxNumMVPCand, some of the motion vector candidates may beremoved to adjust the motion vector candidate list. At this time, motionvector candidates to be removed may be motion vector candidates havingan index that is larger than the maximum number of motion vectorcandidates, maxNumMVPCand, minus 1, (maxNumMVPCand−1). Further, in casethe number of motion vector candidates included in the motion vectorcandidate list, numMVPCandLX, is the same as the maximum number ofmotion vector candidates, maxNumMVPCand, final motion vector candidatesare derived. At this time, in case the maximum number of motion vectorcandidates, maxNumMVPCand, is 2, a maximum of two motion vectorcandidates may be finally derived. At this time, the derived motionvector candidates may be included in the motion vector candidate list,and one of the derived motion vector candidates may be determined as aprediction motion vector of the prediction block.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, in case thenumber of motion vector candidates included in the motion vectorcandidate list, numMVPCandLX, is larger than or equal to the maximumnumber of motion vector candidates, maxNumMVPCand, some of the motionvector candidates may be removed to adjust the motion vector candidatelist. Likewise, in case the number of motion vector candidates includedin the motion vector candidate list, numMVPCandLX, is the same as themaximum number of motion vector candidates, maxNumMVPCand, removal ofmotion vector candidates is not needed. Accordingly, only when thenumber of motion vector candidates included in the motion vectorcandidate list, numMVPCandLX, is larger than the maximum number ofmotion vector candidates, maxNumMVPCand, some of the motion vectorcandidates may be removed to adjust the motion vector candidate list.

Since only comparison between the number of motion vector candidatesincluded in the motion vector candidate list and the maximum number ofmotion vector candidates is performed through the above process tothereby add a motion vector candidate to the motion vector candidatelist, there is no need to perform duplicate check on whether a specificmotion vector candidate ((0,0) motion vector) to be added is present inthe motion vector candidate list, thus leading to a reduction incomputation complexity when performing motion vector prediction.

Further, only comparison between the number of motion vector candidatesincluded in the motion vector candidate list and the maximum number ofmotion vector candidates is performed, and thus, there is no need ofperforming a list empty check for checking whether there is a motionvector in the motion vector candidate list, which is otherwise conductedin the midst of configuring the motion vector candidate list, thusresulting in a further decrease in computation complexity.

FIG. 10 is a view schematically illustrating an embodiment of adding a(0,0) motion vector in case one motion vector candidate is present in amotion vector candidate list.

The encoder and decoder may adjust the size of the motion vectorcandidate list by adding a motion vector to the motion vector candidatelist mvpListLX or removing some motion vector candidates. Here,numMVPCandLX means the number of motion vector candidates in a motionvector candidate list corresponding to one of reference pictures L0 andL1, and the size of the maximum motion vector candidate list may bedetermined depending on a predetermined number, e.g., the maximum numberof motion vector candidates, maxNumMVPCand. For example, the number ofmotion vector candidates included in the motion vector candidate listcorresponding to the reference picture list L0 may be represented asnumMVPCandL0. At this time, numMVPCandLX and maxNumMVPCand may be apositive integer including 0, and in an embodiment, maxNumMVPCand may be2.

Referring to FIG. 10, in an embodiment of the present invention, in casethe maximum number of motion vector candidates, maxNumMVPCand, is 2, thenumber of motion vector candidates included in the motion vectorcandidate list 1000, numMVPCandLX, is 1, and thus, the number of motionvector candidates included in the motion vector candidate list 1000,numMVPCandLX, is smaller than the maximum number of motion vectorcandidates, maxNumMVPCand, a specific motion vector may be added to themotion vector candidate list 1000, thereby increasing the number ofmotion vector candidates included in the motion vector candidate list,numMVPCandLX, by 1. Accordingly, a motion vector candidate list 1010with the specific motion vector added so that the size has been adjustedmay be generated. At this time, the added specific motion vector may bea vector having a predetermined fixed integer and may be, e.g., (0,0)motion vector.

FIG. 11 is a view schematically illustrating an embodiment of adding a(0,0) motion vector in case one (0,0) motion vector candidate is presentin a motion vector candidate list.

Referring to FIG. 11, in another embodiment of the present invention,the maximum number of motion vector candidates, maxNumMVPCand, may be 2,the number of motion vector candidates included in the motion vectorcandidate list 1100, numMVPCandLX, may be smaller than the maximumnumber of motion vector candidates, maxNumMVPCand, and one specificmotion vector ((0,0) motion vector) may be present in the motion vectorcandidate list 1100. In such case, the encoder and decoder may add aspecific motion vector without respect to whether the specific motionvector ((0,0) motion vector) is present in the motion vector candidatelist 1100. Accordingly, one more specific motion vector may be added sothat a size-adjusted motion vector candidate list 1110 may be generated.At this time, the added specific motion vector may be a vector having apredetermined fixed integer or may be a (0,0) motion vector. Whileadding the specific motion vector, the number of motion vectorcandidates included in the motion vector candidate list, numMVPCandLX,may be increased. Accordingly, as many (0,0) motion vectors as themaximum number of motion vector candidates, maxNumMVPCand, may beincluded in the motion vector candidate list 1110. The encoder anddecoder adds a specific motion vector by conducting only the comparisonbetween the number of motion vector candidates included in the motionvector candidate list, numMVPCandLX and the maximum number of motionvector candidates, maxNumMVPCand, and thus, does not determine whetherthe specific motion vector is present in the list, thus leading to areduction in computation complexity.

FIG. 12 is a view schematically illustrating an embodiment of adding(0,0) motion vectors in case no motion vector is present in a motionvector candidate list.

Referring to FIG. 12, in still another embodiment of the presentinvention, the maximum number of motion vector candidates,maxNumMVPCand, may be 2, the number of motion vector candidates includedin the motion vector candidate list 1200, numMVPCandLX may be smallerthan the maximum number of motion vector candidates, maxNumMVPCand, andno motion vector may be present in the motion vector candidate list1200. In such scenario, the encoder and decoder may repeatedly add aspecific motion vector irrespective of whether a motion vector candidateis present in the motion vector candidate list 1200. While adding thespecific motion vector, the number of motion vector candidates includedin the motion vector candidate list, numMVPCandLX, may be increased.

In other words, the encoder and decoder may add specific motion vectorsuntil the number of motion vector candidates included in the motionvector candidate list, numMVPCandLX, reaches the maximum number ofmotion vector candidates, maxNumMVPCand. As in the above embodiment, incase the maximum number of motion vector candidates, maxNumMVPCand, is2, two specific motion vectors may be added. At this time, the addedspecific motion vectors may be vectors having a predetermined fixedinteger or may be (0,0) motion vectors. Accordingly, as many (0,0)motion vectors as the maximum number of motion vector candidates,maxNumMVPCand, may be included in the motion vector candidate list 1210.The encoder and decoder add specific motion vectors by performing onlythe comparison between the number of motion vector candidates includedin the motion vector candidate list, numMVPCandLX, and the maximumnumber of motion vector candidates, maxNumMVPCand, and thus, nodetermination is made on whether a motion vector candidate is present inthe list, thus resulting in a reduction in computation complexity.

Although not illustrated in the drawings, according to yet still anotherembodiment of the present invention, in case the maximum number ofmotion vector candidates, maxNumMVPCand, is 2, and the number of motionvector candidates included in the motion vector candidate list,numMVPCandLX, is smaller than the maximum number of motion vectorcandidates, maxNumMVPCand, one specific motion vector may be added.While the specific motion vector is added, the number of motion vectorcandidates included in the motion vector candidate list, numMVPCandLX,may be increased. In other words, without repeatedly adding a specificmotion vector to be added, only one specific motion vector may be added.For example, in case no motion vector is present in the motion vectorcandidate list, the encoder and decoder may add one specific motionvector irrespective of whether a motion vector candidate is present inthe motion vector candidate list. While the specific motion vector isadded, the number of motion vector candidates included in the motionvector candidate list, numMVPCandLX, may be increased. At this time, theadded specific motion vector may be a vector having a predeterminedfixed integer, or may be a (0,0) motion vector. Even in such case, theencoder and decoder add a specific motion vector by making onlycomparison between the number of motion vector candidates included inthe motion vector candidate list, numMVPCandLX, and the maximum numberof motion vector candidates, maxNumMVPCand, and thus, no determinationis made on whether a motion vector candidate is present in the motionvector candidate list, thus decreasing computation complexity.

FIG. 13 is a view schematically illustrating an embodiment of removingsome motion vectors from a motion vector candidate list.

Referring to FIG. 13, in an embodiment of the present invention, in casethe number of motion vector candidates included in the motion vectorcandidate list 1300, numMVPCandLX, is larger than the maximum number ofmotion vector candidates, maxNumMVPCand, the encoder and decoder mayremove a motion vector candidate having an index of the maximum numberof motion vector candidates minus 1 (maxNumMVPCand−1) from the motionvector candidate list 1300. For example, in case the maximum number ofmotion vector candidates, maxNumMVPCand, is 2, and the number of motionvector candidates included in the motion vector candidate list 1300,numMVPCandLX, is 3, a motion vector candidate (4,−3) having an index of2, which is larger than 1 that is the maximum number of motion vectorcandidates, maxNumMVPCand, minus 1 (maxNumMPVCand−1), from the motionvector candidate list 1300, thus generating a size-adjusted motionvector candidate list 1310.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, in case thenumber of motion vector candidates included in the motion vectorcandidate list, numMVPCandLX, is larger than or equal to the maximumnumber of motion vector candidates, maxNumMVPCand, the encoder anddecoder may remove a motion vector candidate having an index that islarger than the maximum number of motion vector candidates,maxNumMVPCand, minus 1 (maxNumMVPCand−1), from the motion vectorcandidate list.

FIG. 14 is a view schematically illustrating a process of determining aprediction motion vector among motion vector candidates in a motionvector candidate list.

Referring to FIG. 14, the encoder and decoder may determine a predictionmotion vector from motion vector candidates included in a motion vectorcandidate list 1400 that has been adjusted by the above process.

According to an embodiment, the encoder and decoder may determine, as aprediction motion vector, a motion vector candidate in the motion vectorcandidate list 1400 corresponding to a specific motion vector candidateindex. For example, in case the maximum number of motion vectorcandidates, maxNumMVPCand, is 2, and the motion vector candidate indexis 1, a motion vector candidate (2,3) may be determined as theprediction motion vector.

The encoder and decoder may generate a prediction block by performinginter prediction or motion compensation based on the determinedprediction motion vector value.

Although in the embodiments the methods are described based onflowcharts with a series of steps or blocks, the present invention isnot limited to the order, and some steps may be performed simultaneouslywith or in a different sequence from other steps. Further, it may beunderstood by those skilled in the art that other steps may benon-exclusively included in the steps of the flowcharts or one or moresteps may be removed from the flowcharts without affecting the scope ofthe present invention.

The above-described embodiments include various aspects of examples.Although all possible combinations of the various aspects of examplesmay be not described herein, it will be understood by those skilled inthe art that such combinations are possible. Accordingly, the presentinvention includes all other modifications, variations, or changes thatmay be made to the appending claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image decoding method comprising: configuringa motion vector candidate list; modifying the motion vector candidatelist based on a number of motion vector candidates in the motion vectorcandidate list; and determining a prediction motion vector based on themodified motion vector candidate list, wherein the modified motionvector candidate list comprises any one or any combination of any two ormore of a spatial motion vector candidate, a temporal motion vectorcandidate and a (0,0) motion vector, wherein the configuring the motionvector candidate list comprises: deriving the spatial motion vectorcandidate, deriving the temporal motion vector candidate except when twoderived spatial motion vector candidates are present and different fromeach other, and adding either one or both of the derived spatial motionvector candidate and the derived temporal motion vector candidate to themotion vector candidate list, wherein when the number of motion vectorcandidates in the motion vector candidate list is smaller than a maximumnumber of motion vector candidates, the modifying the motion vectorcandidate list includes repeatedly adding the (0,0) motion vectorcandidate until the number of motion vector candidates in the motionvector candidate list reaches the maximum number of motion vectorcandidates, based on the maximum number of motion vector candidates andthe number of motion vector candidates in the motion vector candidatelist, wherein the adding either one or both of the derived spatialmotion vector candidate and the derived temporal motion vector candidateto the motion vector candidate list includes carrying out an operationof checking the same motion vector candidate only on the spatial motionvector candidates for removing the same motion vector candidate, andwherein the maximum number of motion vector candidates is 2 and when nomotion vector candidate is present in the motion vector candidate list,two (0,0) motion vector candidates are added to the motion vectorcandidate list.
 2. The image decoding method of claim 1, wherein in acase where the number of motion vector candidates in the motion vectorcandidate list is smaller than the maximum number of motion vectorcandidates, the modifying the motion vector candidate list includesiteratively adding the specific motion vector candidate until the numberof motion vector candidates in the motion vector candidate list reachesthe maximum number of motion vector candidates irrespective of whether amotion vector candidate is present in the motion vector candidate listor whether the specific motion vector candidate is present in the motionvector candidate list.
 3. The image decoding method of claim 1, whereinwhen one (0,0) motion vector candidate is present in the motion vectorcandidate list, one additional (0,0) motion vector candidate is added tothe motion vector candidate list.
 4. An image encoding methodcomprising: generating a prediction block by performing an interprediction; and performing an entropy encoding of a residual blockcorresponding to a difference between a current block and the predictionblock predicted by the inter prediction, wherein a prediction motionvector corresponding to the prediction block is included in a motionvector candidate list, wherein the motion vector candidate list includesany one or any combination of any two or more of a spatial motion vectorcandidate, a temporal motion vector candidate and a (0,0) motion vectorcandidate, wherein the motion vector candidate list is configured by:deriving the spatial motion vector candidate, deriving the temporalmotion vector candidate except when two derived spatial motion vectorcandidates are present and different from each other, and adding eitherone or both of the derived spatial motion vector candidate and thederived temporal motion vector candidate to the motion vector candidatelist, wherein when a number of motion vector candidates in the motionvector candidate list is smaller than a maximum number of motion vectorcandidates, the (0,0) motion vector candidate is repeatedly added to themotion vector candidate list until the number of motion vectorcandidates in the motion vector candidate list reaches the maximumnumber of motion vector candidates, based on the maximum number ofmotion vector candidates and the number of motion vector candidates inthe motion vector candidate list, wherein the adding either one or bothof the derived spatial motion vector candidate and the derived temporalmotion vector candidate to the motion vector candidate list includescarrying out an operation of checking the same motion vector candidateonly on the spatial motion vector candidates for removing the samemotion vector candidate, and wherein the maximum number of motion vectorcandidates is 2 and when no motion vector candidate is present in themotion vector candidate list, two (0,0) motion vector candidates areadded to the motion vector candidate list.
 5. The image decoding methodof claim 4, wherein when the number of motion vector candidates in themotion vector candidate list is smaller than the maximum number ofmotion vector candidates, the motion vector candidate list isiteratively modified by adding the specific motion vector candidateuntil the number of motion vector candidates in the motion vectorcandidate list reaches the maximum number of motion vector candidatesirrespective of whether a motion vector candidate is present in themotion vector candidate list or whether the specific motion vectorcandidate is present in the motion vector candidate list.
 6. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a bitstream, thebitstream comprising: information for determining a prediction motionvector based on a motion vector candidate list, wherein the motionvector candidate list includes any one or any combination of any two ormore of a spatial motion vector candidate, a temporal motion vectorcandidate and a (0,0) motion vector candidate, wherein the motion vectorcandidate list is configured by: deriving the spatial motion vectorcandidate, deriving the temporal motion vector candidate except when twoderived spatial motion vector candidates are present and different fromeach other, and adding either one or both of the derived spatial motionvector candidate and the derived temporal motion vector candidate to themotion vector candidate list, wherein when a number of motion vectorcandidates in the motion vector candidate list is smaller than a maximumnumber of motion vector candidates, the (0,0) motion vector candidate isrepeatedly added to the motion vector candidate list until the number ofmotion vector candidates in the motion vector candidate list reaches themaximum number of motion vector candidates, based on the maximum numberof motion vector candidates and the number of motion vector candidatesin the motion vector candidate list, wherein the adding either one orboth of the derived spatial motion vector candidate and the derivedtemporal motion vector candidate to the motion vector candidate listincludes carrying out an operation of checking the same motion vectorcandidate only on the spatial motion vector candidates for removing thesame motion vector candidate, and wherein the maximum number of motionvector candidates is 2 and when no motion vector candidate is present inthe motion vector candidate list, two (0,0) motion vector candidates areadded to the motion vector candidate list.